Lyon: Part-Dieu

France's second-largest business district after La Défense": this is how the Greater Lyon urban community describes the Part-Dieu district, located on the left bank of the Rhône in the heart of the third arrondissement of the capital of Gaul.

With its 1.5 million square metres of tertiary activity, 40,000 jobs, some 1,125 hotel rooms and a comprehensive and efficient transport network, Part-Dieu has the means to claim a privileged place on the hexagonal business map, a world away, however, from the forest of towers that covers the west of Paris. Despite the 165 metres of the Crédit Lyonnais tower - and the 115 metres of the forthcoming Oxygène tower - there has been little in the way of skyscraper overkill here.

Clearly, just a few minutes from the city centre, Part-Dieu is not just a business district, but also a lively one, symbolised by the Halles, an auditorium, the largest municipal library in France and a gigantic shopping centre that also lays claim to national prominence. To this list should be added the hotels and restaurants that are a natural stop-off point for any business traveller to Lyon.